The Doorstep Killer
by luv2write89
Summary: When the bones of a young child appear on the doorstep of Temperance’s apartment, it’s up to her and Booth to put this case to rest before she is . . . B&B of course with a little H
1. Chapter 1

Temperance let out a groan as her alarm beeped annoyingly and she reached over to her left and slammed her fist down on the alarm, abruptly ending the noise and replacing it with a peaceful silence. She had gotten home particularly late last night after a brutally hard case. The bones of a four year old girl had been discovered in the inside of an old, broken freezer, her neck snapped and bruises all over her body. It turns out her father was an alcoholic and, while his wife was away, had beaten his little girl in a drunken rage and then tossed her body into the broken freezer, knowing that his wife never goes into the cellar, and then took off. The mom had found the daughter a few weeks later only because of the smell. It was cases like these that she couldn't comprehend. She just couldn't see how someone could murder in cold blood someone so innocent and young. As soon as she had lifted the tiny body out of the freezer she had wanted to cry or smash something in her anger but she kept a tight lip because she couldn't afford to get attached to cases like Booth did. When he had seen the bones of the little girl he had looked like he was going to snap someone's neck himself.

Sighing, she threw the covers off of her and reluctantly got up as she looked at the clock which read 6:30. Great. She had gotten about two hours of sleep. She got dressed and then headed to her kitchen and had a quick breakfast. After that she headed towards the bathroom and looked in the mirror at her reflection, reflecting on what Booth had said a couple cases back when they dealt with the beauty pageant killing. Shaking that thought aside, she tied her hair into a ponytail, brushed her teeth and then grabbed her coat and keys. She opened the door to the apartment and was about to take a step outside when she looked down and her foot froze. There was a small wooden box about two feet by two feet and inside of it was a skull.


	2. The Note

She immediately pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Booth's number. She waited impatiently as the phone rang a few times and on the fifth ring he picked up.

"Hello?" His voice said groggily.

"Booth, it's me." She said.

"Bones? It's . . .6:30. Why are you . . .?" He began but she cut him off."I found a skeleton. On my doorstep." She said, surprised at how shaky her voice sounded.

"I'll be right over. Don't move." His voice suddenly sounded more alert then before.

"Okay." She said and she flipped her phone shut. She wanted to take a closer look at the skull so she crouched down on her feet. After examining the box closer, she realized that there was a whole skeleton in the box, and it was that of a young female as far as she could tell. She let out an exhausted sigh and then noticed that there was a piece of paper neatly tucked in between the skull and the side of the box. Slipping on her winter gloves, working with what was available; she pulled out the note and unfolded it. Her face paled as she read what it said.

**I know that these are your FAVORITE cases Dr. Brennan, or should I say Joy. I know you're little secret but don't worry. I won't tell. Well, I hope you enjoy what I have left for you because this is only the beginning.**

She dropped the note because her hand was shaking so hard and she quickly replaced it. How did he know? No one knew except her, Booth and . . .her face paled. Russ. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number. After getting the voicemail she left a message and shut her phone. Realizing that she couldn't just leave these bones out here, she picked them up and carried them inside, placing the box on her island. She then proceeded to pace the room anxiously until ten minutes later when there was a knock on her door causing her to jump."Bones it's me. Open up." Booth's voice called out. Temperance let out deep breathe, trying not to show how unnerved that note had made her feel and then she walked over to her door and opened it to see Seely Booth standing there in a suit, his hands shoved in his pockets and a worried expression on his face. He took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on her shoulders.

"Hey. You okay?" He asked in concern. She nodded numbly and let him inside.

"They're on the island." She said and pointed to the box. Booth strode over to it and snatched the piece of paper out from it.

"Hey, you're getting your fingerprints on it." She protested.

"You've been watching too much CSI." Booth said, skimming the note.

"That show is an extreme exaggeration of what we . . ." She began but Booth cut her off.

"This is serious stuff Bones. Have you told anyone else outside of the lab who you really are?" He said and she shook her head vigorously.

"None that I can recall and I told them specifically not to tell anyone." She said.

"It was probably wonder boy who blabbed." muttered Booth.

"His name is Zack." She said in mild annoyance. He placed the note back and then looked at her.

"That's it. I'm going to be you official bodyguard until we catch this psycho who sent you the note and the bones. How young are we looking at?" He asked her softly.

"I won't be able to tell until we get to the Jeffersonian." She replied.

"Let's go then, but first I think we need to get a cup of coffee." He said as he opened the door for her.

"Why?" She asked bemusedly as she picked up the box full of bones.

"Just let me, okay?" He said as she walked by him.

"Okay." She replied and the two of them walked out of her apartment and headed towards the elevator.


	3. The Shadow

At the Jeffersonian . . .

Temperance burst through the door practically running as she sped walked towards the stairs. It was nine o clock and she was officially an hour late, which she never was. Her and Booth had talked for a while about semi-normal stuff amazingly and she knew that it was just his way of trying to get her to relax and it worked, which she was grateful for, but it was hard to think of anything else other then the bones in the back seat of her car. They had talked about a lot of things including Parker and that brought a smile to her face. Parker was a cute kid and she smiled when she saw Booth's face light up at the mention of his son, but now she had to concentrate on the bones that she was carrying in front of her. She knew that Angela was going to tease her endlessly about being late AND being late with Booth but she'd deal with that later.

"Hey Bones, wait up. Geez, you're killing me." Booth complained as he ran to catch up to her and sped walked with her to the steps that led up to the examining table among with other things.

"Can you get that?" She asked him, nodding towards the card reader that was attached to the railing.

"Yeah, sure." Booth said as he pulled out a card from his pocket and then swiped it downwards through the reader.

"Thanks." She said and she walked up the stairs.

"Yeah no problem." Booth said as he followed her up. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs they were confronted by Angela who was holding a clipboard to her chest.

"Ah, you're finally here. And where have you two been?" She teased, a grin spreading across her face.

"We went for coffee; nothing happened Ang but nice try." Temperance said, a small smile spreading across her face as she placed the box on the steel table a few feet in front of her.

"Really. Then why is Booth standing so close to you then?" She asked a sly grin on her face. Tempe turned around and jumped as Booth stood only a foot away.

"Booth, you don't need to be standing that close. I kind of need my space. It's not like someone's going to just waltz in here with a gun and mow me down." She said.

"That's not funny Bones." Booth said seriously, his arms folded across his chest.

"It wasn't meant to be a joke." She found herself snapping back.

"Are you sure nothing . . .?" Angela began.

"Nothing happened." They both snapped at her, turning their heads to face her. She threw her hands into the air.

"Okay, okay." She said, barely stopping from laughing.

"Booth's only like this because I got his note . . ."

" . . .along with a skeleton." Booth interrupted, getting a glare from her.

"Anyways, I found them at my doorstep this morning. It's nothing." She said and then turned her attention towards the bones. Booth strode over, snatched the note and handed it over to Angela.

"This isn't nothing." He said grimly. Angela looked up, her face pale.

"Sweetie, I agree with Booth on this. No one in here told anyone anything about you really being Joy. Trust me. I made sure." She added.

"Well it's two against one Bones so I guess I'll be your shadow for the rest of the day. So, what do we got?" He asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and shot him a glare and he immediately let go. She turned back to the skeleton and bent down closer.

"She's young. Four, maybe five at the most. See here?" She pointed towards the neck and Booth leaned in.

"Her neck looks like it was broken. Angela, can you get me an I.D. on her?" She asked, picking up the skull.

"Sure." Angela said and she took the skull out of her hands and walked off to her office. Tempe let out a tired sigh and placed both of her hands on the table. Booth placed a hand on her shoulder and this time she didn't shoot him a glare as she turned to face him.

"Hey. You okay?" He asked her softly. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just . . . I can't believe how people can be so . . ." She trailed off, trying to find the right word.

". . . evil?" Booth suggested and she smiled wearily at him.

"Don't let this get to you. It's what they want." Booth said softly and she nodded. It was then that she realized how close he was to her. She was close enough that she could smell his aftershave and she cleared her throat, taking a step back.

"I'm going to go see how Angela is doing." She said.

"She just left though." He said a confused look on his face.

"Well, I thought that I could be more help there then just standing around and doing nothing." She said, stammering out a reply.

"Okay but no without me." Booth said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Booth it's like two steps away. I'll be fine." She argued, copying his stance. The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes until Booth let out a sigh.

"Fine, go." He said.

"Thank you." She said calmly and strode past the FBI Agent who continued to look at her as she walked away.

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(Thanks for all the awesome reviews! If you keep them coming, I'll keep the story coming! Thanks!) 


	4. The Bet

She walked down the hallway and turned to go into Angela's office but she saw Jack in there and so she waited outside, eavesdropping on them.

"Jack, we're just friends and I thought we were going to leave it at that." Angela's voice said softly.

"Yeah but going to see a movie's not really a . . . date. It's something that good friends do too." He said lamely. Tempe smiled and cleared her throat as she walked into the room.

"Hey guys. Hope I'm not interrupting anything important." She said as she appeared to them. Jack and Angela both jumped and turned to face her, both blushing.

"Hey Dr. Brennan." Jack said, looking downwards in embarrassment.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" Angela said. She looked over Tempe's shoulder and smiled at her.

"Hey, what happened to your shadow?" She asked teasingly. Tempe shot her a look.

"He's taking a break. Honestly, he can be so . . . so . . ."She trailed off.

" . . .hot?" Angela said jokingly.

"Yes, hot. No, wait! That is NOT what I was looking for. That's not what I . . ." She blushed deep red as Angela laughed and Jack snickered.

"Don't either of you dare tell him I said that. That's not fair because you . . . you tricked me." She protested.

"Ah, but you didn't deny it." Jack said, causing her to open her mouth in protest but shut it as she couldn't come up with an answer.

"Hey, you're right Jack. Okay, just for that I'll go to the movies with you. As friends." She emphasized, grinning as Jack pumped his fist.

"All right. If all it takes to get a date . . . as friends" He added hastily, "is to hook up Dr. Brennan and Booth or get them to reveal stuff about each other, I'll be getting way more." He said grinning. Angela raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? Because I've definitely been trying for way longer than you have." She said, smiling.

"Wanna bet on it?" Jack asked, holding out his hand, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You are on." Angela replied.

"Alright. If nothing happens between Dr. Brennan and Booth like couple wise in the next week, I'll stop bugging you for dates and we'll just be friends, but if I win, you have to agree to go on four dates with me and give our relationship a chance." He said.

"Four?" Angela said skeptically.

"Four." Jack confirmed. She grasped his hand and shook it.

"Deal." She said, smiling at him.

"Um . . .hello?! I'm right here." Tempe protested, blushing. "Booth and I are just good friends." She insisted.

"Not for long." Jack muttered loud enough for her to hear and caused Angela to laugh. Temperance let out a groan.

"Okay, whatever. You guys win. Can we talk about something else, like the case now? With the little girl?" She said softly and immediately Angela and Jack quieted down.

"What do we have Ang?" Temp asked softly as her friend sat down by her computer. Angela's fingers flew over the keyboard and an image popped up onto the screen and Tempe's face paled. The little girl had light brown hair, bright blue eyes, a dimple to the left of her mouth and her two front teeth were missing as she grinned happily into the camera.

"Please don't tell me that's who I think it is." Tempe said softly, not wanting to believe the image in front of her.

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Thanks for the reviews again! Again, if you keep on reviewing, i'll keep on updating. 


	5. The Identity

"When did you find this out?" She asked Angela.

"It's Kelly Summers and I found it out almost right away. . ." Angela began.

"Then why didn't you come and tell me?" Tempe said angrily, raising her voice.

"Tempe, what's wrong?" Angela said with concern. Tempe rubbed her hand against her temple.

"I'm sorry for snapping on you Ang, it's just that . . ." She trailed off.

"Just what?" Angela asked.

"You know that Kelly Summer's is Judge Summer's kid and you know that her neck was found broken, just like the other little girl's case that we had a few days ago. Guess who the father of that little girl was tried and convicted by?" She answered and Jack's eyes widened.

"You have got to be kidding." Jack said excitedly. He loved conspiracy theories.

"Why would I kid about something like this?" She snapped angrily at Jack.

"It's an expression." Angela said softly.

"Oh, sorry." Tempe muttered under her breath.

"Anyways, I got to go tell Booth. Thanks guys." She said and she turned and walked out of the room.

"Poor Tempe." Angela said softly.

"Mmm hmm. What do you think the odds are that Booth makes a move now?" Jack asked her. Angela rolled her eyes and smacked him across the arm with her hand as she walked out the door.

"What? What did I say?" He protested as he followed her out.

Tempe had turned out of the room and headed towards where she'd left Booth and froze when she saw him. Him and Dr. Saroyan, she refused to call her Cam, were talking and laughing. Tempe clenched her fists as she saw her touch Booth's arm lightly. After Dr. Goodman had left, Dr. Saroyan had take over and was ruining her and Booth's . . . whatever they had. She strode up the stairs and coughed loudly, causing Booth and Dr. Saroyan to jump.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything. Booth, can I talk to you? Alone?" She said as she shot a cold glare at Cam.

"Okay, okay. I can take a hint." She said. "See you later Seely." She smiled at Booth as she walked away.

"What was that about Bones?" Booth demanded, folding his arms.

"I told you that I don't like her and did she call you Seely?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow. Booth squirmed a bit before he answered.

"She always does and why does it matter to you anyway?" He asked curiously.

"I think . . . that at work . . . an employer should show proper respect to her colleagues by showing them the proper respect." She stammered out. Booth raised an eyebrow.

"She calls Zack Zackeroni." He said, smiling. She caught herself smiling and then she remembered what she had to talk to him about.

"Okay, now that you're done sidetracking me, we found out who the little girl is and you're not going to believe it." She said grimly.

"Hit me." Booth replied, his face serious. She looked confused and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow. Not literally Bones. I meant tell me who she is." He said, wincing.

"Oh, sorry. Anyways, she's Kelly Summers." She said. Booth stopped acting as if he was in pain and stood up straighter.

"You don't mean Judge Summer's kid. The same judge who convicted the guy, Dave Suiting of killing his daughter?" He asked.

"The same." She answered softly.

"But wait . . . didn't this little girl also die of a broken neck, like the little girl in the freezer? Maybe these cases are related, and if they are . . ." He trailed off.

". . . maybe Dave is working with an accomplice. When they found him at his friend's house, they never found the friend." She finished for him.

"Bones, he knows who you are." He said, looking at her in concern.

"So? We just catch him right away. We should probably go visit the judge first though and . . ." She trailed off as she was hit was a horrible realization.


	6. The Visit

Thanks for all the awesome reviews and just a warning in advance. If you do NOT like cliff hangers, this ain't the chapter for you! You guys are awesome.

Also, I should have done this earlier but all these characters aren't mine, i just love toying with them and the belong to Kathy Reichs and Fox, yada yada yada.

Hope ya like it!

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"And what?" Booth prodded.

"It's all my fault." She whispered silently, not really talking to him.

"What is?" Booth asked as he took a step closer to her.

"He killed the girl and gave her to me because I put his friend in jail. If I hadn't put Dave in jail she'd still be alive, Booth it's all my fault." She told him with an vacant expression on her face. Booth placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Tempe, look at me. Temperance." He said softly and she met his gaze. He never called her by her first name unless it was really serious. She looked up into his face and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"Hey. Hey. This is NOT your fault. All you did was put a killer behind bars and did you actually kill Kelly? No." He said softly. He placed his arm around her shoulder."Come on. Let's go see the judge and don't worry. I'll do all the talking; you can stay in the car if you want." He said. Tempe nodded and let him lead her out towards the entrance of the building but before she walked outside she glanced backwards and thought she had seen Jack. Shaking that off, and with Booth's arm slung over her shoulders, the two of them walked to his car.

Earlier on . . .

Jack watched, from behind a corner, Booth and Dr. Brennan talking and smiled as he watched Booth place an arm around her shoulder. This was going to be too easy. He did another fist pump as he thought about the dates he was going to get with Angela. He knew that they could make it work if they really tried but Angela didn't want to risk it. If he could show her that it could work between Booth and Dr. Brennan, hopefully she would see that it could work between them. He ran behind the wall as Dr. Brennan looked back and he hoped that she hadn't seen him. She kept walking and he let out a sigh of relief and then went to talk to Angela.

At the Judge's house . . .

Booth held onto the dashboard tightly as Tempe turned a hard left into the Judge's long driveway and drove to the end of it, coming to a halt with a screech.

"Thanks for letting me drive. Hey, I wasn't that bad, was I?" She asked him, noticing his white knuckles.

"Noo, you only ran like five red lights and got beeped at like a hundred times and now you see why I drive." He teased.

"Hey I wasn't that bad." She protested and he looked at her.

"Alright, maybe I'm not the best driver." She admitted.

"Maybe?" He joked. She swatted him on the arm and smiled.

"Thanks Booth." She said softly.

"No problem." He answered and leaned back in his seat. They sat there in silence and Tempe stared at the house in front of her. It was an old Victorian house that had four pillars that decorated the front porch nicely. Vines crept on the side of the house adding that much more flare to it. She was startled out of her thoughts by Booth placing his hand on hers and giving it a squeeze.

"Do you want to go in?" He asked her. She let out a deep breathe and nodded.

"Let's go then." He said and he let go of her hand. They both climbed out of the silver SUV and walked to the front of the house side by side and Booth rang the doorbell. A few seconds later the sound of footsteps could be heard and the door swung open and Temperance's mouth dropped open.

"Judge Summers?" She said in disbelief.

"Bones." Booth hissed, but he could see why she was looking at him like that. The judge was dressed in a white tank top and boxer shorts, his brown hair was rustled, his eyes bloodshot and there were bags under his eyes revealing how long it had been since he had slept.

"You found her didn't you?" He said hoarsely. Booth looked at her and then back at the judge.

"We're so sorry for your loss." He said sincerely. Tears streamed down the judge's face.

"Not Kelly. Why did it have to be Kelly?" He sobbed, placing a hand over his mouth. Booth and Tempe waited a few minutes until he composed himself.

"Do-do you know who did it? Who killed her? Can I go see her?" He asked them.

"I'm afraid we're still working on your daughter's b-body." Tempe said, catching herself before she said bones in order to lessen his pain.

"You're lying. I can tell. I'm a judge. You don't think I can't tell when someone's lying?" He shouted angrily at her and grabbed her roughly by the arm. Booth stepped in and shoved the judge back, making him let go of her.

"Hey look buddy; she was just trying to help you. You want the truth; I'll give you the truth." Booth snapped angrily.

"Booth . . ." Tempe warned, rubbing her arm gently from where Judge Summers had grabbed her.

"Your daughter's bones" He said, emphasizing the word bones, "were found on Bones' doorstep. She has been busting her butt to see what has happened, which was that your daughter's neck was brok. . ."

"Seely, that's enough." Tempe shouted at him, surprised to see their roles reversed. It was usually her that had to be told to shut up and even then, she still managed to blab the wrong thing.

"B-bones? She's only been missing for a few days." Judge Summers said as he began to cry again.

"I'm sorry. That was rude." Booth muttered and he took a step back."Can we come in?" Tempe asked softly and the judge nodded and allowed them in. In front of them was a huge staircase that went up to a platform and then split off into two separate sets of staircases, one going to the left and the other to the right. He led them into a room to the right of the staircase and inside the room was a black leather couch, a big screened television and a fireplace. He led them to the couch and the three of them sat down on it. Booth gained control of his emotions and sat quietly as Tempe explained to Judge Summers what they believed had happened so far.

"We're so sorry for your loss but we will find out who did this." Booth said quietly. The judge just stared at them looking shell shocked.

"Let me get this straight. The guy I just put away had killed his daughter in the same way mine died and you think he has an accomplice that is copycatting his moves and started with my daughter because I put his friend away and on top of that, he placed her bones" He swallowed thickly. "On Dr. Brennan's doorstep?" He said. Booth nodded and he stood up.

"E-excuse me. I think I need to get a drink." He said softly and they watched as he trudged out of the room and took a right.

"Whaddya think Bones?" Booth asked her.

"I think that he is genuinely sad and I can see why. What I can't see is why he hasn't blamed me yet." She said softly.

"Because you did nothing wrong. Trust me Bones." Booth insisted. The two of them sat there in silence for about twenty minutes and Booth began to feel uneasy.

"I think our judge has been gone for too long." He said to her. Tempe nodded and the two of them stood up.

"Let's check the kitchen." She advised and he gave her an exasperated look.

"What?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Let's go." He said and they walked out of the room. They turned right and walked on the left side of the stairs where they entered the kitchen. They were halfway through the kitchen when Tempe spoke up.

"Pull out your gun." She whispered from behind him, causing him to jump.

"I scared you didn't I?" She said, a grin spreading across her face as he turned to face her.

"No you did not scare me and I think that I've got this under control . . ." He began.

"Look out." She shouted and Booth whirled around to . . .


	7. The Incident

He he he (evil laugh) You guys are going to like this chapter, hopefully. I'm writing as fast as i can so hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Enjoy!

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And Booth turned around to . . . get slammed in the forehead with a baseball bat. He let out a groan and slumped to the ground. Tempe looked from the crumpled body of Booth to the swaying body of the judge. His eyes were glazed and he was ready to take another swing, this time at her.

"It's your fault that my daughter's dead. I-I'll k-ill . . .I'll kill . . ." He slurred the words and then he fell backwards onto the ground, the bat rolling out of his hands. Tempe pushed aside thoughts of guilt and she fell on her knees as she helped the groaning FBI agent up.

"Booth, are you okay?" She asked in concern. He clenched his teeth in pain and ran his hand over the bump that was growing on his forehead.

"I'm fine Bones. It's just a bump." He said as he got to his feet slowly.

"He was drunk by the way." She stated as she clung to his arm as he stood on his feet shakily.

"I was kind of preoccupied with the baseball bat connecting with my head." He said sorely and then looked down at the judge passed out on the ground.

"I'm sorry Booth. Here, I've got some Advil in my purse in the car. I'll just run and grab it. You wait here." She said and she took off running out the door. Booth winced in pain as his head began to throb and he looked at the unconscious form of the judge. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon so he made his way over to the front door. He opened the door and leaned in the doorframe as he saw Tempe searching through the passenger side door for the Advil. She got out of the truck and turned to face him, holding up the bottle.

"Got it." She yelled.

"I can hear you fine Bones. I'm about fifteen feet away, not fifty." He called back to her. She smiled sheepishly and she went to shut the door. As soon as she shut it Booth felt that something was wrong and he ran as fast as he could towards her. He was about five feet away from her when . . . **BOOM!** The car exploded into a fireball and he was thrown back about ten feet and nailed his back on the steps leading to the front door, wincing in pain as he sat on the ground. Tempe wasn't as lucky. The explosion had lifted her about ten feet off the ground and sent her flying well over his head. He watched helplessly as she slammed into one of the pillars with a sickening crunch, leaving an indent and a trail of blood, and fell to the ground in a heap.

"No!" He scrambled to his feet, fighting off the feeling of nausea and ran over to her side. He fell to his knees and whipped off his jacket. He covered her body with it, beating off the flames and then after he had gotten them out, he called 911. He gave them the address and then turned his attention back to the motionless body of his partner, wondering if she had been this terrified when he had been blown up. Her hair was singed black at the ends of it; her face was cut and bruised, the right side of her face blackened from being burnt badly, contrasting greatly with how pale her skin was. Her right arm was bent at an unnatural angle and the flames had burnt through her coat and the bottom of her shirt, leaving her stomach black and blistered, all of this making Booth want to throw up. He shifted positions so that he was cradling her head in his lap and he felt the back of her head to see if there was any blood. When he pulled back his hand it was covered in tons of blood and he cursed as he took his jacket off her and placed it behind her head to help stop the bleeding.

"Come on Bones, hold on." He urged and, while still placing pressure with the coat on the back of her head, he took two fingers on his right hand and placed them under her neck. He pulled them back and grimaced in pain at how hot her skin was. He let out a deep breath and placed his fingers back under her neck, ignoring the pain that was building up. Tears of pain welled up in his eyes but he wasn't letting go until he found that . . . there. He felt a weak pulse and immediately let go. His fingers were turning an ugly red color and his skin was cracked and peeling. He looked up as he heard sirens fill the air and a single tear slid down his face which surprised him. He never cried. NEVER, but then, Bones had never been this close to dying either.

The next few minutes all seemed a blur to him as the ambulance pulled into the long driveway, stopping short of the burning SUV. Two paramedics jumped out from the vehicle and opened the back doors. They pulled out a stretcher and began to make their way over to him. Booth felt a burning sensation in his left hand and when he looked down; he realized he was holding onto Tempe's hand with a death grip.

"Don't do this to me Temperance." He whispered, allowing another tear to run down his face. The paramedics came over to his side and lifted her up onto the stretcher, cursing as they did so because of how hot her skin was. They strapped her in and the male paramedic wheeled her away as the female paramedic looked at him in concern.

"Sir, are you okay?" She asked him, looking at the bump on his head and his burnt and bloodied hands.

"I'm fine." Booth lied as he slowly began walking over to the ambulance.

"Are you a relative?" She asked and again he lied as he nodded.

"Well, sort of. I'm her . . . boyfriend and she doesn't have any family members left." He said softly.

"You're going to need to be checked out when you get to the hospital." She said.

"Not until I know that she's okay first." He said softly, so that she missed what he had said. He waited for the paramedics to lift Tempe into the ambulance and he slowly climbed in too, wincing as he back throbbed with pain, and then the doors were shut. He sat down beside Tempe's body and the rest of the way to the hospital was ridden in silence.


End file.
